The period of time before the Cannes Boat Show opens each morning is quite something to behold. Boats of all shapes and sizes rub guardrails in the packed basin of Le Vieux Port, ferrying press and customers past the looming superyachts on the outer quays to open water for sea trials. All have to be out, through the floating bridges and back in again before the show opens. It is the very definition of organised chaos.

From my perch on the flybridge of the Sirena 58 I have the perfect vantage point of the melée as our skipper deftly guides the boat through the traffic and out into a glittering Bay of Cannes. We, like most of the boats on the water with us, are loaded with people, which should give a pretty good idea of how the boat is going to perform with a full compliment of guests and crew on board. Despite the boatload of guests, the pair of Caterpillar C8.7 650hp motors kick the 58 out of the hole with ease and spin up to 2,175rpm and a top speed of 22 knots. The boat seemed to be under-revving a touch, as the quoted maximum is 2,300rpm; something to do with the fact that the boat had four months’ worth of growth on the hull, perhaps.
Progress is unhurried and serene but the driving experience isn’t particularly engaging. There’s little point in trying to
steer through the elements, so pop on the autopilot and let the cultured German Frers hull soak up the bumps.
Not that there are many in the bay, the odd bit of wash from fellow test drivers but nothing to shake the 58’s tree.

It’s an extra €66,000 ex VAT to upgrade to the meaty 12.9-litre 850hp diesels, which is steep but not so bad in the grand scheme of things on a boat that starts at €950,000 ex VAT. The extra horsepower isn’t essential but I would go for it if the price isn’t prohibitive to give the boat a bit more wallop in the rough and keep performance agreeable once it’s been loaded with kit.

Neither helm station is that well focused ergonomically, but both look classy and display engine and navigation information effectively. You can’t sit back in your seat and still reach the throttles so, much like the driving experience, it’s more about setting the throttles and letting the boat get on with it.
Sirena is still a relatively new name in the world of motor craft, though there is vast experience here, from building part of the Magellano range on behalf of Azimut (which it still does) to its own range of Azuree and Euphoria sailing boats put togetherat the yard’s Turkish facility.

Its boatbuilding skill is evident from the moment you step into the broad cockpit, which is well protected by the substantial cockpit overhang. There is heft and tactility to nearly everything you come into contact with, like the over-sized boarding gates, solid uprights that lend support to the overhang and stern winches the diameter of dinner plates. Having access into either side of the cockpit means there is only space on the aft bench for two – maybe three – people, but there is room to arrange director’s chairs around the table.
A door set into the upright transom grants access to the crew cabin, which has a single berth, separate bathroom and a reasonable amount of natural light thanks to the slender strip of glazing.

The saloon is a bright, welcoming space with an attractive mix of light oak cabinets and darker walnut flooring and accenting. Cream leather with contrasting brown piping coats the generous dinette and seating amidships, which is slightly raised above the galley level to improve sightlines for those on the seats. The décor is modern yet the furniture has nicely rounded edges with no hard corners to bash yourself against at sea, though the saloon could do with a few more handholds.

Deceptively spacious

Below decks is where the boat’s incredible internal volume is most obvious. The cabins, even in three-cabin guise, feel gigantic with high ceilings, generous floor space and incredibly spacious ensuite bathrooms. The two-cabin variant, which must feel colossal below decks, keeps the same ensuite amidships but the forward cabin puts the double berth in the middle of the cabin with the bedhead facing aft and a neat dinette tucked into the forepeak. Due to its slightly larger bathroom it would probably be used as the master though there isn’t much in it.

The show boat had three cabins and a more traditional configuration with master amidships, VIP forward and an ensuite twin to port. All three are bright and comfortable, and providing each one with its own bathroom is some feat on a boat a whisker over 60ft. The master could easily be from a boat 10ft larger, such is the amount of headroom and flat floor space around the centrally mounted island berth. It’s in the realms of bedroom not cabin, and with a cute vanity unit to port and small settee to starboard there are enough touches of luxury without compromising storage space. The ensuite tops it off with its exquisite finish and roomy shower cubicle.

The top deck has a unique layout with a substantial central mast topped with the boat’s navigation equipment and fitted with a neat rain shower, which allows guests to cool off without straying too far from their sun loungers – the latter are free-standing as there isn’t an option for more practical fixed furniture. Forward, however, there is a good balance of sunbathing and dining space with the wet bar neatly incorporated into the aft end of the dinette.
There is more comfortable lounging space on the foredeck, which combines a plush bench, which is flanked by two deep storage voids, and a raised sunpad separated from each other by a wide walkway.

The Sirena 64 was an impressive debut but, if anything, the 58 is better because it is a smaller boat that feels so big. You appreciate every inch of space that the designers have squeezed out of the hull, exploiting the beam and pushing right forward into that upright forefoot.

Verdict

It is a well-rounded and cleverly designed package that majors on the two things that the vast majority of people are looking for from a boat this size: internal volume and living space on deck. It doesn’t set the world alight with its dynamics but it is by no means shabby, though my instinct would be to plump for the bigger engines. It may be the perfect platform from which to watch the chaos of a morning in Cannes but it has far more strings to its bow than that.

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